The Orange Orchard

 
 
 

Vocabulary

hug	estate	board (3)
wheat	pass by	compartment
indeed	hereby	destination
own	settle in	not long after
grove	hectare	wave (2)
duty	include	laundry
gather	funeral	pass away
silent	will (2)	previous
asset	scream	property
cry (2)	nearly	bequeath
reply	senile	mention

 
 
 
 

The Train Station

Doina hugged her mother…then her father…her younger brother…and grandparents, then boarded the train. They all waved to each other as the train departed the station.

From her compartment window, Doina watched the wheat and corn fields pass by. This was the first time she was traveling outside of Moldova. Soon she would cross into Romania. Then Hungary. Her final destination: Italy.

The Village

Doina had finished school the previous year and worked in a small shop in her village.

Now she was joining her aunt in Treviso.

“You should come here; the money is good,” her aunt had told her during her last visit to the village.

The Estate

A few days after arriving in Treviso, Doina began working for Mr. Santucci.

The 78-year-old owned a twenty-five hectare orange orchard. Many people, including her aunt, worked there, harvesting mainly fruits.

Duties

Doina’s job was helping Mr. Santucci. She cooked meals for him. She did the laundry and went shopping. She cleaned his 17-room mansion.

And Doina indeed earned good money, most of which she sent home to her parents and younger brother, now in university.

This went on for seven years.

Family Gathering

Then one day, Mr. Santucci passed away in his sleep.

After the funeral, his son, daughter, niece, nephew, and grandchildren gathered in the main hall of the mansion. It was the first time they had been there in over 20 years.

The Will

Nobody made a sound as Mr. Santucci’s lawyer read his will: “I, Franco Santucci, hereby bequeath my home, orange orchard, and all other property and assets to Doina Ropot…”

“What?!? This must be some mistake!” cried Mr. Santucci’s son, a hedge funds manager.
“No, this is exactly what Mr. Santucci told me. He wrote it himself,” said the lawyer. “Actually he changed his will three years ago.”
“Impossible! I don’t believe it! How can this be?!?” Mr. Santucci’s daughter, a plastic surgeon, nearly screamed.
“He must have been senile…crazy,” said a nephew.
“And what about US, his FAMILY members?” asked a niece.
“No one else is mention in his will,” replied the lawyer.
 
 

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Questions

1. Who is Doina? Where is she from?

2. Doina went to Italy for a vacation. True or false? Why did she leave her home?

3. Did she find work as an IT specialist? What did she do in Treviso?

4. Doina spent her earnings on an SUV, parties and fashionable clothes. Is this right or wrong?

5. What happened in the end? In the end . . .

6. How did Mr. Santucci’s relatives feel? Why did they feel this way?

7. Mr. Santucci was probably senile or the lawyer had made a mistake in the will. What do you think?
 
 
A. In my country, children always take care of (look after) their parents when they get old. True or false?

B. Are family ties (relationships) close or loose?

C. When parents die, their property, house and money always go to their children. Children always inherit all their parent’s money and property. Yes or no?

D. Does your friend look forward to inheriting something? What do your friends hope to inherit?

E. Have you heard of someone inheriting a large fortune or home from an unknown, distant relative?

F. What are you going to pass on to your children? What would you like to pass on to your children?